One Mann's Viewpoint

"Rent to Buy" Marriages Renting in America is common when it comes to objects, like a suit for a wedding, a truck when you move houses, or even a movie to entertain your family for a night, but have you ever thought of marriage as something you would want to rent before you bought?  Today we see many people convinced that the best way to prepare for marriage is to take their future spouse for a "test drive" before they purchase. The phenomenon I am referring to is called cohabitation. It involves two unmarried individuals who are in a relationship living together prior to being married. These cohabiting relationships often operate by certain rules, like living together and having sexual intercourse, but not combining finances or becoming fully dependent on one another. The goal in these relationships is to enjoy the benefits of living together without having to be committed fully to the other person. Although this model of "trying before you buy"

Christ will Provide This week I had the pleasure of learning again, in depth, the miracle of feeding the five hundred. This story shows up a few times in the New Testament, but I ran into it again while reading in Mark chapter 6. For those who are unfamiliar with this miracle, I will give a short and quick breakdown.  The Savior and his apostles are in the wilderness and people come to be taught by him. Many came and learned with him. As the day went on the apostles asked of Jesus what they should do for these people. They needed to eat, but there were so many people. The apostles suggested sending the people back to the city to get food for themselves. Jesus Christ had a different idea, inviting his apostles to go out among the people and collect all the food they had. They collected only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. After Jesus blessed this food and separated the people into groups, he was able to feed them all. It was a miracle that this small sacrifice of food was multi

The Origin of True Authority This week in my studies I came across a scripture that got my mind thinking. The scripture was in the Book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 21 & 22, and it reads... " And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."  To set the stage, Mark is telling about some of the things that Christ did in his ministry, and he tells this right after saying how Christ called his apostles one by one. These scriptures stood out to me because they outline the distinct difference that people were able to see between the scribes and the Lord, Jesus Christ. In two ways he was different, in his "astonishing" knowledge of the doctrine and in his authority.  Christ's knowledge of the doctrine came from study and prayer. He was the Son of God, but he grew up learning, as th

Being Judged Today What it means to have your "Calling and Election" made sure Recently while reading in the new testament in 2 Peter, I stumbled across a scripture that led me to think and study more deeply. The verse that caught my attention was 2 Peter 1:10-11 which reads... "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This scripture explains how if you are able to "make your calling and election sure" then you will never fall away and it seems like you'll be admitted into the same kingdom as Christ, our savior. Now these seemed like pretty important promises to me, things that I would most certainly want to obtain. The next step was to figure out what "making your calling and election sure" even meant. 

Being Equally Yoked There is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It is what it means to be "equally yoked" to the people around you. Especially your spouse. This week in my study of the New Testament I stumbled across a scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says... "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" This verse is a pretty intense verse with some pretty different interpretations. Paul is the author of this book and he is writing to the saints who are living in Corinth. Is he telling them, and us, to not be friends with those who aren't faithful members? Surely he isn't telling us to drop every one of our non-member friends and live in a shelters lds community where we will never be around those who are "equally yoked" in the gospel with us.  There is a talk, given by President Spencer W. Kimbal

The Reality of Christ and Satan As many of you know, I am a Christian. I fully believe in the reality of Christ, in his ministry as recorded in the New Testament, and of the miracles that he performed. I gained this revelation in the same way many of the apostles did that we read about in the scriptures. When Christ called his apostles he told them to follow him and gave them authority to enact certain miracles. In Matthew chapter 10 he told them to...  "... go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.". With this charge, the apostles did just that. We can read account after account of them healing the sick, raising the dead, and giving freely of the word of God to his children. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that this is the same church that Christ established, brought back to the earth by Christ himself, a